The Atlantic Antic is a street fair held yearly on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. It is run by the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation (LDC).[1] Estimated to be the second-largest annual gathering in Brooklyn after the Labor Day Carnival, the Antic features food stands, live music, belly dancing, and entertainment for children. In 2006, some 300 vendors and 300,000 people attended; in 2009, roughly 600 vendors and over a million people were estimated to have attended.[2][3]
The fair has occurred each Fall since 1974, except for in 2001, when Mayor Rudy Giuliani canceled all NYC parades and fairs following the September 11 attacks, and in 2002, when a city policy on street closure prevented the LDC from holding the fair.[4] The fair runs for 10 blocks (approximately one mile) along Atlantic Avenue, from Hicks Street to 4th Avenue in the Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill neighborhoods of Brooklyn.[5] At Atlantic Avenue and Boerum Place, the nearby New York Transit Museum hosts an annual Bus Festival where fair-goers can get inside vintage New York City buses dating back to 1917.[6] The fair is mentioned in the Beastie Boys' 1989 song "Shadrach," from Paul's Boutique: So I'm out pickin' pockets at the Atlantic Antic/ And nobody wants to hear you 'cause your rhymes are so frantic.
The Atlantic Antic is presented by the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation and produced by Auster Agency out of Brooklyn, NY.